Jet Skis Outline

Jet skis

Thesis statement: Jet skis should be banned from some waterways because they are loud, create environmental mess, and harm animals.

INTRODUCTION
I. Jet skis can be fun, but they are also hazardous.

A. Jet skis are popular.

1. More than 1.3 million jet skis (also called personal watercraft) are in use, with annual sales of about 200,000—one-third of all boat sales.

2. Some people love them and want to use them on all waterways.

3. Other people hate them and want them banned.

B. My experience is both a joyful and an irritating one.

1. I enjoyed driving a jet ski on the ocean a few years ago.

2. But my vacation recently at a beautiful lake was marred by the constant noise of jet skis.

BODY
I. The first reason they should be banned is because they make too much noise.

A. People go to national and state parks to get away from noise and enjoy the sounds of nature.

B. A jet ski makes loud, intrusive noise.

1. A person on shore 100 feet away hears 80 decibels (equivalent to a police siren).

2. Two or more jet skis traveling together can create over 100 decibels (equivalent to standing next to a chainsaw).

3. These decibel levels were determined by the American Industrial Hygiene Association.

(Transition: While jet skis are creating noise, they are also creating an environmental mess.)

II. Another reason they should be banned is because they create an environmental mess.

A. One day’s worth of jet ski production of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide equals what a car would produce over 100,000 miles.

B. Jet skis have inefficient, two-stroke engines, which dump up to one-third of their fuel unburned.

C. Each year 165 million gallons of oil are spilled into U.S. waterways by jet skis.

D. Jet ski emissions can harm humans, animals, and plants, says the Environmental Protection Agency.

E. A lot of the toxic chemicals are long-lived.

1. For example, polycyclic hydrocarbons can kill zooplankton, an important part of the food chain.

2. In lakes that have heavy jet ski traffic, fish populations have declined.

(Transition: Pollution is not the only way that jet skis harm animals.)

III. The final reason jet skis should be banned is because they harm animals.

A. Jet skis are so small, they can enter shallow waters.

B. These waters are used by wildlife for reproduction and nesting.

C. Jet skis cause alarm and flight and sometimes death, says Dr. Burger.

1. Many birds abandon their nests permanently.

2. This exposes their young to predators and bad weather.

CONCLUSION
IV. Jet skis should be banned.

A. They create loud, intrusive noise in otherwise peaceful public places.

B. They cause pollution of the air and water.

C. They harass wildlife.

D. If you enjoy the outdoors and respect the environment, please ask your U.S. and state legislators to support a ban.

D. When we go to these parks, we have a right to find peace and quiet.

References

Burger, Joanna, Ph.D., professor of biology at Rutgers University . E-mail interview. 5 Oct. 2000. (for in-text only)

Clemans, John. “Bluewater Blues.” Motor Boating & Sailing Mar. 2000: 56.

“Guide to Personal Watercraft.” National Parks and Conservation Association (Internet site at www.npca.org). Shaw, Robinson. “Environmental Group Pushes Government to Rid National Parks of

Watercraft.” Environmental News Network (press release). 3 Sept. 2000.

References: Burger, Joanna, Ph.D., professor of biology at Rutgers University . E-mail interview. 5 Oct. 2000. (for in-text only) Clemans, John. “Bluewater Blues.” Motor Boating & Sailing Mar. 2000: 56. “Guide to Personal Watercraft.” National Parks and Conservation Association (Internet site at www.npca.org). Shaw, Robinson. “Environmental Group Pushes Government to Rid National Parks of Watercraft.” Environmental News Network (press release). 3 Sept. 2000.